Looking for a solution? Enter: Generative AI (or GenAI for short). Over the past few years, we have delivered dozens of workshops and training sessions for HR teams to demonstrate the power of GenAI.

Not by adding yet another tool, but by placing an intelligent layer on top of existing HR systems. A layer that summarises, explains, compares, suggests, checks and supports. Not as hype, but as a silent accelerator of the day-to-day HR reality.

During these workshops, we notice that many HR teams are still looking for truly practical and concrete examples. In this blog post, we present three practice-oriented use cases where, in our view, HR teams can already derive tangible value from GenAI today — with attention to governance, the AI Act and the human who remains in control of the system.

ATSs are excellent for workflows and compliance, but less strong when it comes to nuance and interpretation. Recruiters still lose a great deal of time on manual screening, rewriting texts and repetitive communication.

GenAI changes this by functioning as a thinking layer on top of the ATS.

What GenAI already does for recruiters today

• Rewriting job descriptions tailored to the target audience, seniority level, inclusiveness or tone of voice.
• Summarising CVs and cover letters into 5–10 key points: experience, competencies, points of attention and questions.
• Making match/mismatch explicit: no automatic ranking, but transparent reasoning based on the content of the CVs.
• Generating interview preparation: behavioural questions based on the CV.
• Personalising candidate communication: preparing invitations, reminders and rejection messages so that the HR professional does not have to start from a ‘blank page’, but already has a first draft to build on.

Why it creates value

• 30–50% less time spent on pre-screening
• More consistent and inclusive communication
• Recruiters have more time for conversations instead of administration

Governance conditions (what should you definitely pay attention to)

• Do not allow GenAI to make autonomous decisions. According to the AI Act, there must be a ‘human in the loop’ and GenAI must not make autonomous decisions on these matters.
• Logging of AI-supported activities
• Transparency towards candidates about the use of AI

HRIS systems contain enormous amounts of valuable data, but they often remain difficult for HR professionals and managers to query: “Which definition applies here? Where does this figure come from? Which filter should I use?”

Generative AI acts as a translator between human language and complex HR data models.

What GenAI can already do for HR teams today

• Answer questions in natural language
  - “How many employees are currently on career break?”
  - “Give me the average tenure per cluster.”
• Explain and contextualise figures
  - Summarise trends
  - Explain deviations
  - Add possible interpretations
• Make policies easier to understand
  - Translate legal or technical language into clear language
  - Provide versions for employees, managers or HR
• Detect data quality issues
  - Missing values, inconsistencies, definitions that are incorrect

Why this creates value

• Every HR Business Partner, recruiter or manager can understand figures
• Lowers the threshold for data analysis. Not every HR professional gets excited about this.
• The HRIS is truly used — not just populated

Governance conditions (what should you definitely pay attention to)

• Ensure strict access rights
• Provide role-based responses, so that not everyone in your organisation can see everything
• No interpretations without underlying data
• Confirmation by HR for strategic decisions (again applying the ‘human in the loop’ principle discussed above)

Payroll and onboarding are complex, prone to errors and often dependent on a small group of experts. A lot of knowledge resides in the minds of HR team members, rather than in systems.

GenAI strengthens these processes by structuring knowledge and streamlining administration, without carrying out payroll calculations itself. Its role is therefore mainly supportive.

What GenAI can already do today

• Explain payslips: “Why is my net salary lower this month?” (explanation, not calculation)
• Generate contracts, certificates and letters based on templates
• Clarify process steps: “What should I do in the case of a long-term absence?”
• Preserve specialist knowledge: scenario explanations, exceptions, frequently asked questions

Why this creates value

• Fewer ad hoc questions for the payroll team
• Fewer errors and greater consistency
• Knowledge and expertise that currently often resides in the minds of HR employees becomes explicit and transferable

Governance conditions

• GenAI may provide explanations, but must not perform calculations without human oversight
• Data minimisation: only work with anonymised or authorised data to safeguard anonymity and privacy
• Validation by payroll or HR staff for official documents (again applying the ‘human in the loop’ principle discussed above)

Across all three cases, GenAI fulfils the same role as a common thread:

• It translates complexity into clarity
• It makes hidden knowledge accessible
• It removes repetitive tasks from HR teams
• It strengthens — but does not replace — human decision-making

Would you like even more inspiration on how to apply AI in HR? Then be sure to subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter for tips and trends.

Or join our free webinar where we showcase real-life business cases, or contact us with your questions so that we can explore together whether GenAI can also support your HR processes and how we can help.